Photo Gallery: Musical Destinations

Amandla, a documentary film that took nine years to produce, depicts the history of South Africa's protest songs. Amandla means 'power' in Xhosa; the songs, chanted during funerals, capture the black South African strength, pain, and resilience through the country's apartheid.

Credit: DigitalStock

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Quirky characters like Jimmy Buffet have helped define Key West as a world unto itself. Almost every restaurant has a 'Cheeseburger in Paradise' on the menu and, with any concoction of the tequila favorite imaginable, Duvall Street truly is a Margaritaville.

Credit: Corel

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After visiting Joshua Tree National Monument in California, U2 attempted to set the story of the park's incredible landscape to song. The album is still a top-seller and truly is the perfect companion to explore the stunning park.

Credit: Getty Images

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When the Beatles began their spiritual quest in the 1960s, they set off to India. George Harrison discovered the sitar and brought a 'raga-rock' fad to the west. In 1992, Harrison said of India: 'It unlocked this enormous big door in the back of my consciousness.'

Credit: DigitalStock

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With frenetic flamenco chords and an acoustic, jazzy sound, the Gypsy Kings sent the music world reeling with an indigenous musical tradition called rumba flamenco. The group sings in a Gypsy dialect called 'Gitane': a melodic combination of Spanish, French, and Catalan.

Credit: Corel

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Guitarist Ry Cooder returned to Havana in 1997 to reunite a forgotten group of musicians. Their recording became an immediate international sensationthe musicians of the Buena Vista Social Club remain a testament that grace and beauty can prevail in hardship.

Credit: Corbis

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Giuseppe Verdi reluctantly agreed to compose an opera for the new opera house in Cairo. Verdi wrote Aida in four months. The exotic and tragic opera opened in 1870 and promised to remain one of the most famous in history.